The National Fire Agency said on the 3rd it will operate the "2026 Hazardous Materials Safety Central Inspection Team" to prevent accidents and strengthen safety management at large-scale hazardous materials storage and handling establishments.
The Central Inspection Team is composed of 55 people in total, including the National Fire Agency and city and provincial inspection personnel and officials from the Korea Fire Institute (KFI), with the National Fire Agency hazardous materials safety Director General serving as the head.
After completing pre-duty training, they will conduct fire inspections for one month starting on the 16th at 149 locations across three large-scale hazardous materials storage and handling establishments. In line with the Hazardous Materials Safety Control Act, they plan to focus on whether facility standards are being met and whether standards for conduct such as storage and handling are being followed.
The National Fire Agency said that if violations are found in the inspections, it will notify the jurisdictional fire stations to ensure actions under relevant laws are taken, including criminal charges, fines, and administrative orders. Even if an issue does not constitute a legal violation, items with high fire risk will be addressed through administrative guidance.
The National Fire Agency also plans to identify and improve areas where special structures and new technologies have not been reflected in current technical standards during the inspection process. Song Ho-young, director of the National Fire Agency Fire Prevention Bureau, said, "We will closely examine risk factors in the field and proactively improve identified shortcomings to strengthen safety management at large-scale hazardous materials establishments."